This campaign sought to drive awareness and build positive brand perception of the UK amongst international C-suite and decision-making audiences, driving consideration to invest in and to trade with UK.
Its strategy was grounded in insights from a study interviewing 2,000 c-suites across the globe to assess key factors that influence decision-making when it comes to FDI (CNN International / B2B International, 2024).

Key insights included:

• 97% consider international news important in informing decisions
• 173 days as the average number of days it takes to make foreign investment decisions
• 81% say alignment with personal values are a consideration when making decisions
• 80% consider the perception of a country an important factor before investing

From these the following campaign strategy was developed:

• Content will be a mix of rational and emotional content to appeal to a high-level business audience on a profressional and personal level
• Campaign weighting and flighting optimised to align with the decision-making process
• Content will spotlight the distinctive and positive image of the UK to influence the audience perception of the UK
• Comprehensive use of the CNN ecosystem to meet the audience wherever they consume international news

Inspired in the UK: multiplatform content positioning the UK as a global hub for innovation—where start-ups and visionary thinkers are tackling global challenges and shaping the future.

At the core of the campaign were human-led stories, brought to life through films and digital content. These highlighted the personal and professional journeys of UK-based innovators, while showcasing the country’s strong investment potential, infrastructure, and support for entrepreneurs.

The campaign included:

• Seven in-depth native articles explored the DBT’s six priority industry sectors, with one dedicated to answering the central question “Why invest in the UK?”
• An animated film sets up a compelling answer to the question of ‘Why the UK?’
• Two documentary-style case study films featuring innovators exploring how the UK enables their groundbreaking work. Envisionit Deep AI is a company combining AI and healthcare expertise to speed up diagnoses which relocated to the UK for its leading approach to responsible AI and the access to capital and talent. RWE is a leading global energy company investing strongly in clean energy projects in the UK, drawn to the nation by clear legally binding targets to reduce emissions and skilled labour.
• A suite of on-site traffic drivers promoted the UK’s trade and investment strengths across CNN’s platforms timed with key global events. This included high-impact animated banners and seamlessly integrated native advertisments on CNN.com.
• Spanish and Arabic versions of assets reached audiences on CNN Mexico and CNN Arabic.
• A combined TVC edit of the case studies aired on CNN and CNN International, offering a comprehensive view of the UK’s innovation landscape.

CNN was the ideal media partner for UK DBT:

• CNN ranked first for monthly reach among UK DBT’s audience in key geographies across digital and TV (GWI, 2023).
• CNN was number one for usage and trust for FDI leaders when it comes to informing international business decisions (GWI, 2024).
• CNN’s dedicated regional platforms such as CNN Mexico and CNN Arabic to help influence audiences in those locations, alongside CNN International and CNN in the US.

This grounded the campaign in a media ecosystem that already had the eyes and trust of UK DBT’s target audience.

The multi-platform solution leveraged the whole CNN ecosystem, using traffic driving and distribution formats that have had proven success in past partnerships, as well as innovative new formats,

Videos were embedded in the digital articles and optimized for distribution on social media. CNN newsletters, CNN Business social handles on LinkedIn and Meta, pre-roll adverts and banners on CNN.com drove traffic to the digital content.

The TVC was shown on CNN International feeds worldwide, strategically planned to leverage key international moments. This included a CTV campaign on CNN Headlines. Subtitled versions in Arabic and Spanish extended the campaign’s reach to CNN Arabic’s and CNN Mexico’s respective audiences.

The campaign also gained strong visibility through advertising around the CNN editorial digital series, Blueprint which explores the industries and innovations shaping our future and highlights how the UK is at the forefront of creating a more prosperous world through its leading sectors.

This solution provided great exposure for the campaign with CNN’s sophisticated digital targetting capbilites enabling the campaign to reach the UK DBT’s target audience

• TV reach of 234 million
• 52 million digital impressions
• 6 million social impressions

To measure awareness, brand perception and consideration to invest in/to trade with UK, an independent ad effectiveness study was conducted. The campaign performed very strongly on all accounts, but for the C-suite and decision-making target audience, the campaign excelled.

Awareness of the UK as an attractive place to relocate or scale emerging/new business soared after exposure to the campaign.

In response to the question: “Which countries do you see as particularly attractive places to relocate or scale an emerging or new business?”:

• 30% uplift in overall mentions of the UK after exposure to the campaign
• 21% uplift in top mentions of the UK after exposure to the campaign

These results far exceeded the benchmark and outperformed the competitor average of –1%.

Brand perception of the UK rose across the board:

• 93% of the campaign’s target audiences agreed the seeing the content made them feel more positive to investing in or trading with the UK – 61% reported to feel much more positive
• Attractiveness as a location for investment for the UK increased +9%

The campaign made strides in boosting consideration to invest in/to trade with UK:

• Intention to trade with/invest in the UK increased +10% after exposure to the campaign, compared to a competitor average of –3%
• Among key audience groups, intention to trade or invest in the UK increased an average of +13%

An additional win for the campaign was its particular resonance with those who have influence over a company/department budget exceeding € 1 million—highlighting its effectiveness at influencing large businesses with more potential to invest in the UK.

In nearly every instance this campaign exceeded benchmarks and positioned the UK ahead of its competitors for awareness, brand perception and consideration. In multiple cases, interest in the UK replaced interest in competitor nations.

Why the UK article and animation